BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online
Eve, Martin Paul (2016) “You have to keep track of your changes”: The
Version Variants and Publishing History of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Open
Library of Humanities 2 (2), pp. 1-34. ISSN 2056-6700.
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For reference purposes I here present a concordance of excerpts from P and E editions with
the numbering referring to the question count from the start of the Sonmi narrative. To
comply with copyright, these are redacted in most cases, except where I have analysed the
works above, but enough information is included to allow the identification and verification
of the textual editions detailed herein.
Variant Reference P page P text E text
Q1 187 ‘Historians still unborn will appreciate your cooperation in the future, Sonmi ~451. We archivists thank you in the present. […] Once we’re finished, the orison will be archived at the Ministry of Testaments. […] Your version of the truth is what matters.’
‘On behalf of my ministry, thank you for agreeing to this final interview. Please remember, this isn’t an interrogation, or a trial. Your version of the truth is the only one that matters.’
R1 187 ‘No other version of the truth has ever mattered to me.’
‘TRUTH IS SINGULAR. ITS ‘VERSIONS’ ARE
MISTRUTHS.’
Q2 187 ‘Let’s begin. Usually, I start by asking interviewees to recall their very earliest memories. You look uncertain.’
‘... Good. Ordinarily, I begin by asking prisoners to recall their earliest memories to provide a context for corpocratic historians of the future.’
R2 187 ‘I have no earliest memories, Archivist. Every day of my life in Papa Song's was as uniform as the fries we vended.’
‘Fabricants have no earliest memories, Archivist. One twenty-four-hour cycle in Papa Song’s is indistinguishable from any other.’
Q3 187 ‘Then would you please describe that world’
R3 187 ‘It was a sealed dome about eighty metres across, a dinery owned by Papa Song Corp. Servers spend twelve working years without venturing outside this space, ever. [...] North was the Seer’s office; west, his Aides’ room; south, the servers’ dormroom. Consumers’
hygieners were ingressed at north-east, east, south-west and north-south-west. The Hub sat in the centre.’
‘If you wish. A server is woken at hour four-thirty by stimulin in the airflow, then yellow-up in our dormroom. [...] At hour five we man our tellers around the Hub, ready for the elevator to bring the new day’s first consumers. For the following nineteen hours we greet diners, input orders, tray food, vend drinks, upstock condiments, wipe tables, and bin garbage. Vespers follows cleaning, then we imbibe one Soapsac in the dormroom. [...]’
Q4 188 ‘Antics?’ ‘You have no rests?’
R4 188 ‘Various 3D conjuring tricks...’ ‘Only purebloods are entitled to ‘rests,’ Archivist. For fabricants, ‘rests’ would be an act of time theft. Until curfew at hour zero, every minute must be devoted to the service and enrichment of Papa Song.’
Q5 188 ‘How many staff worked in the
dinery?’
‘Do servers—unascended servers, I mean—never wonder about life outside your dome, or did you believe your dinery was the whole cosmos?’
R5 188 ‘Fourteen, approx. […] Four
hundred consumers could be seated.’
‘Oh, our intelligence is not so crude that we cannot conceive of an outside. Remember, at
Matins, Papa Song shows us pictures of Xultation and Hawaii, and AdV instreams images of a cosmology beyond our servery.’
Q6 188 ‘Can you describe a server’s schedule?’
‘What about your sense of time? Of the future?’
R6 188 ‘Hour four thirty is yellow-up [...]’
‘Papa Song announces the passing hours to the diners, so I noticed the time of day, dimly, yes. [...]We had only one long-term future: Xultation.’
R7 188-189 ‘'Rests’ constitute time-theft, Archivist! [...]’
‘After Matins on First Day, Seer Rhee would pin a star on every server’s collar. The elevator then took thoselucky Twelvestarred sisters for conveyance to Papa Song’s Ark. [...]’
Q8 189 ‘Is it true, Fabricants really dream, just like us?’
‘I’d like to ask about the infamous Yoona~939.’
R8 189 ‘Yes, Archivist [...]’ ‘I knew Yoona~939 better than any fabricant. […] Her
sullenness hid a subtle dignity [...]’
Q9 189 What have your dreams been
about here in prison?’
‘This “subtle dignity” you mention—was it a result of her ascension?’
R9 189 ‘[...] Dreams are all I have ever truly owned.’
‘Postgrad Boom-Sook’s research notes were so sparse I cannot be certain when Yoona~939’s ascension was triggered [...]’
Q10 189 ‘Do servers never wonder about the bigger world […]?’
‘Popular wisdom has it that fabricants don’t have personalities.’
R10 189 ‘Our cosmology is not so crude, or our intelligence so limited. [...]’
‘This fallacy is propagated for the comfort of purebloods.’
Q11 189 ‘It’s difficult to imagine, living with so many … imponderables’
‘‘‘Comfort”? How do you mean?’
R11 189 ‘When you were three or four, Archivist, your father vanished to a realm called “Work”, did he not? [...]’
‘To enslave an individual troubles your consciences, Archivist, but to enslave a clone is no more troubling than
owning the latest six-wheeler ford, ethically. [...]’
Q12 189 ‘So you never wanted to step in the elevator and just … y’know, go see?’
‘[...] When did Yoona~939’s deviances—perhaps I should say singularities—first become apparent to you?’
R12 189 ‘[...] No elevator functions without a Soul aboard.’
‘Ah, questions of when are difficult to answer in a world without calendars […] I became aware of Yoona~939’s irregular speech.’
R13 190 ‘Yes: as governed by Catechism Six.’
‘Firstly, she spoke more [...]’
Q14 190 ‘Which states?’ ‘[...] How could Yoona~939
[…] acquire verbal dexterity [...]?’
R14 190 ‘One Year, One Star, Twelve
Stars to Xultation! […] They xhorted us to […] join them on Xultation as soon as possible’
‘An ascending fabricant absorbs language [...]’
Q15 190 ‘[...] I thought your working life was set at twelve years?’
‘[...] were you happy, back in those days?’
R15 190 ‘If a server reports [...]’ ‘[...] of all Nea So Copros’s slaves we surely are the most miserable [...]’
Q16 190 ‘Ah yes, the notorious Yoona ~939. Can you remember meeting her?’
‘Slaves, you say? […]’
R16 190 ‘I can. [...]’ ‘Corpocracy is built on slavery.
[…] Why has my case been assigned to an
apparently inxperienced corpocrat?’
Q17 191 ‘[...] were they a result of her ascension?’
‘[...] The xecs at the Ministry of Unanimity insisted that you, as a heretic, had nothing to offer corpocracy’s archives but sedition and blasphemy
Genomicists, for whom you are a holy grail, as you know, pulled levers on the Juche to have Rule 54.iii—the right to archivism [...]’
R17 191 ‘Student Boom-Sook’s research
notes were so chaotic [...]’
‘So you are gambling your career on this interview?’
Q18 191 ‘[...] Why do you say that?’ ‘... That is the truth of the matter, yes.’
R18 191 ‘To enslave an individual
distresses the conscience [...]’
‘Your frankness is refreshing after so much duplicity.’
Q19 191 ‘When did Yoona ~939's
deviances become apparent to you?’
‘A duplicitous archivist
R19 191 ‘Questions of 'when' are difficult to answer in a world with no calendar’
‘Poor Seer Rhee was corp man [...]’
Q20 191 ‘What over deviances showed
themselves?’
‘His cuckolds?’
R20 191-192 ‘Yoona ~939 mimicked the consumers. [...]’
‘Yes. Seer Rhee should be understood in the context of his wife. [...]’
Q21 192 ‘And when did Yoona ~939
actually violate a Catechism in public?’
‘Yoona~939’s notoriety must have threatened the seer’s “blemishless record” severely, wouldn’t you agree?’
R21 192 ‘During Month Eight [...]’ ‘Certainly [...]’
Q22 192 ‘She said that […]!’ ‘When did Yoona~939 first attempt to make you complicit in her crimes?’
R22 192 ‘Her amazement equalled your
own [...]’
‘I suppose the first time was when she xplained a newfound word, secret, one slow hour at the teller. […] This confession shocked me most of all, in a way.’
Q23 193 ‘Why didn't the mother […]?’ ‘How so?’
R23 193 ‘Maybe the woman was numb
[...]’
‘Catechism Three teaches […]. Greatest of all, however, was a book, a picture book.’
Q24 193 ‘There were no other witnesses […]?’
‘Not many of those around these days.’
R24 193 ‘[...] she let Yoona's outburst go unreported [...]’
‘Indeed not. [...]’
Q25 193 ‘How did Yoona develop her
verbal skills [...]?’
‘How many 'next times' were there?’
R25 193 ‘Ascension absorbs language
[...]’
‘Ten, or fifteen, approx. [...]’
Q26 193 ‘[...] Were you happy in those days?’
‘What shapes did these doubts take?’
R26 193 ‘[...] of all Nea So Copros’ slaves we surely are the most miserable [...]’
‘Questions: [...]’
R27 193 ‘Is your youth genuine or dewdrugged?’
‘I begged Yoona to stop [...]’
Q28 193-194 ‘[...] Unamity insisted that a heretic had nothing to offer the state archives but sedition. [...]’
‘Two un-Souled fabricants, fleeing their corp, unaided?’
R28 194 ‘So you are gambling [...]’ ‘But how could Yoona know that? [….]’
Q29 194 ‘... That is more or less the truth of the matter, yes.’
‘Are you saying mental illness triggered the Yoona~939 Atrocity?’
R29 194 ‘I learned to expect only duplicity [...]’
‘I am, emphatically. [...]’
Q30 194 ‘A duplicitous archivist
wouldn’t be much use to anyone!’
‘Would you describe the events of that New Year’s Eve from your vantage point?’
R30 194 ‘Seer Rhee was corp man [...]’ ‘I was wiping tables [...]’
Q31 194 ‘Did you say “his many
cuckolds”?’
‘She hadn’t told you of her escape plan?’
R31 194 ‘Seer Rhee must be understood in the context of his wife.’
‘As I said, she had ceased to acknowledge my xistence [...]’
Q32 194 ‘How come she never used this influence on her own husband's behalf?’
‘Media reported that Yoona~939 stole the child to employ as a pureblood shield on the surface.’
R32 194-195 ‘I don't know the inner
mechanics of their marriage [...]’
‘Media reported the 'atrocity' xactly as Unanimity directed.’
Q33 195 ‘Why did Seer Rhee tolerate […]?’
‘You sound very sure of your thesis.’
R33 195 ‘First: [...]’ ‘If my xperiences do not give
me the right to be sure, whose do? [...]’
Q34 195 ‘Did Yoona~939 threaten Seer
Rhee's blemishless record, do you think?’
‘Nonetheless, please describe the Yoona~939 Atrocity, as you saw it.’
R34 195 ‘I am certain she did. [...]’ ‘Very well. [...]’
Q35 195 ‘At what point did Yoona ~939 make you complicit […]?’
‘[...] When Unanimity
confirmed the fabricant was a genuine Yoona ... we ... I ...’
R35 195-196 ‘Yoona attempted to xplain the meaning of a newfound word, secret. [...]’
Q36 196 ‘Why so?’ ‘[...] What happened down in your dinery, meanwhile?’
R36 196-197 ‘‘Catechism Three teaches […]. Then she showed me the finest treasure of all. 'This book,' she said [...]’
‘Unanimity arrived in force [...]’
Q37 197 ‘Could Yoona read like a
pureblood as well as talk like one?’
‘I still find it incredible [...]’
R37 197 ‘[...] we read the pictures [...]’ ‘Such was the shock, the panic. [...]’
Q38 197 ‘There was a next time?’ ‘Would you recount what you remember for my orison?’
R38 197 ‘[...] Ten Tenth Nites, or fifteen [...]’
‘Our Logoman’s head filled half the dome [...]’
Q39 198 ‘What shapes did these doubt takes?’
‘You said in your trial that Yoona~939 couldn’t have been a Union member. Do you still maintain that position?’
R39 198 ‘Doubts about the sureties of the fabricant world [...]’
‘Yes. […]’
Q40 198 ‘How did you respond?’ ‘I’m puzzled. […]’
R40 198 ‘I begged Yoona to stop voicing crimes of blasphemy. [...]’
‘Because my own ascension had already begun. [...]’
Q41 198 ‘But two Inside servers, fleeing their corp, unaided […]’
‘So ... after the Sermon, New Year’s Day was business as usual?’
R41 198-199 ‘How could Yoona ~939 know that? [….]’
‘Business, yes; usual, no. [...]’
Q42 199 ‘Did anything trigger the Yoona ~939 deviancy […]?’
‘Your birthmark? I didn’t know fabricants have birthmarks.’
R42 199 ‘The deviancy was an
inevitability awaiting a trigger [...]’
‘We do not [...]’
Q43 199 ‘Did you tell Yoona ~939 your fears?’
‘Would you show it to my orison […]?’
Q44 200 ‘Can seers inflict […]?’ ‘Xtraordinary It looks like a comet [...]’
R44 200 ‘Seers manage [...]’ ‘Hae-Joo Im made xactly [...]’
Q45 200 ‘But the Yoona ~939 […]’ ‘[...] Did Seer Rhee retain his position?’
R45 200-201 ‘I was wiping tables [...]’ ‘Yes, but it brought the unlucky man little solace. [...]’
Q46 201 ‘Media reported [...]’ ‘And it was around this time that you grew aware of your own ascension?’
R46 201 ‘Media reported what Unamity
told them to report.’
‘Correct. [...]’
Q47 201 ‘She didn't discuss her escape attempt with you?’
‘How long did you have to endure that state?’
R47 201-202 ‘Yoona had stopped discussing anything with me. [...]’
‘Some months. [...]’
Q48 202 ‘I saw that image too [...]’ ‘Rhee was dead? [...]’
R48 202 ‘You felt the world would never be the same. [...]’
‘Whatever the official verdict, the office stunk of Soap soporifix. […]’
Q49 202 ‘[...] What happened down in your dome?’
‘You said you envied your unthinking, untroubled sisters.’
R49 202 ‘The two other Yoonas [...]’ ‘That is not quite the same as wishing to be one. [...]’
Q50 202 ‘I was amazed [...]’ ‘That decision didn’t cause you any guilt, later?’
R50 202-203 ‘Such was the level of panic. [...]’
‘Not much: [...]’
Q51 203 ‘Can you recount [...]’ ‘He sounds like an enforcer.’
Q52 204 ‘Wasn't Yoona ~939 a Union member […]?’
‘Not much of a choice.’
R52 204 ‘How and when could Union
recruit her? [...]’
‘No. [...]’
Q53 204 ‘So after the Sermon [...]’ ‘[...] Please, describe xactly what you saw.’
R53 204 ‘Business: not quite as usual. [...]’
‘Chongmyo Plaza, predawn. [...]’
Q54 204 ‘I didn't know fabricants had birthmarks.’
‘It must have been overwhelming.’
R54 204 ‘We don't: they are genomed
out. [...]’
‘Even the smells were new [...]’
Q55 205 ‘Please show it to the orison […] It resembles a comet.’
‘Didn’t you ask where you were being taken?’
R55 205 ‘Hae-Joo Im made the same
observation.’
‘Why ask a question […]?’
Q56 205 ‘So, I assume you passed the Medic's xamination?’
‘What else caught your eye?’
R56 205 ‘Yes. [...]’ ‘Oh, the greenness of green
[…]’
Q57 205 ‘Did Seer Rhee […]?’ ‘So you were taken to the University straight from Papa Song’s?’
R57 205 ‘Yes. [...]’ ‘To reduce xperimental
contamination, yes. [...]’
Q58 205 ‘Servers' memories are genomed weak [...]’
‘What did you think of your new quarters? [...]’
R58 205 ‘A simple question [...]’ ‘Dirty [...]’
Q59 205 ‘Go on.’ ‘Had you never seen insects
before?’
Q60 206 ‘[...] What did you intend to do?’
‘What ... were you supposed to do for the next three days?’
R60 206 ‘What could I do […]?’ ‘Xcept watch the rolex hand erode the hours [...]’
Q61 206 ‘And how long did you have to endure […]?’
‘Did your second day outside provide any answers?’
R61 206-207 ‘On Fourth Month [...]’ ‘Some: but yet more surprises. [...]’
Q62 207 ‘Rhee was dead?’ ‘What sort of fabricant was
Wing ~027? [...]’
R62 207 ‘I smelt lethe [...]’ ‘No, a disasterman. [...]’
Q63 207 ‘Did that decision cause you any guilt?’
‘So Wing ~027, not Hae-Joo Im or Boardman Mephi, mentored you first?’
R63 207 ‘No. [...]’ ‘That is not true, strictly. [...]’
Q64 208 ‘An enforcer?’ ‘[...] What about his Ph.D.
xperiments on you?’
R64 208 ‘He was a chauffeur [...]’ ‘Boom-Sook Kim’s concerns were not his Ph.D. [...]’
Q65 208 ‘Not much of a choice.’ ‘But how was Boom-Sook planning to graduate?’
R65 208 ‘It was the first choice of my life [...]’
‘By paying an academic agent [...]’
Q66 208 ‘I almost envy you [...]’ ‘Wasn’t Boom-Sook Kim’s tutor aware of this outrageous
plagiarism?’
R66 208-209 ‘Chongmyo Plaza [...]’ ‘Professors who value tenure do not muckrake the sons of future Juche Boardmen.’
Q67 209 ‘It must have been
overwhelming.’
‘Did Boom-Sook never even talk to you ... interact with you, in any way?’
R67 209-210 ‘Overwhelming: the apposite word. [...]’
‘He addressed me like
Q68 210 ‘Didn't you ask […]?’ ‘So for nine months nobody observed your skyrocketing sentience?’
R68 210 ‘Why ask a question […]?’ ‘So I believed. [...]’
Q69 210 What else caught your eye?’ ‘What is “poker”?’
R69 210-211 ‘Back below the canopy [...]’ ‘A card game [...]’
Q70 211 ‘So you were taken […]?’ ‘Why was it that you never met Wing~027 again?’
R70 211-212 ‘To reduce xperimental contamination, yes. [...]’
‘One humid afternoon [...]’
Q71 212 ‘What did you make of your
new home?’
‘Why is that unusual?’
R71 212 ‘I was struck by its dirt [...]’ ‘Purebloods see us often but look at us rarely. [...]’
Q72 212 ‘Had you never seen insects before?’
‘Did you feel ... well, what did you feel? [...]’
R72 212-213 ‘Only rogue-gened [...]’ ‘Fury. [...]’
Q73 213 ‘What ... were you supposed to do for the next three days?’
‘What happened to you over summer recess?’
R73 213-214 ‘I had no idea. […]’ ‘Boom-Sook should have deposited me [...]’
Q74 214 ‘When you woke […]?’ ‘So you never set foot outside Boom-Sook’s lab in five weeks? [...]’
R74 214-215 ‘The soap had less [...]’ ‘Not once. [...]’
Q75 215 ‘What sort of fabricant was Wing ~027? [...]’
‘But that’s fifty days of
unbroken solitary confinement!’
Q76 216 ‘So Wing ~027, not Hae-Joo Im or Boardman Mephi, mentored you first?’
‘And you were still Boom-Sook’s thesis specimen […]?’
R76 216-217 ‘Wong ~027 could have mentored me further [...]’
‘Yes. [...]’
Q77 217 ‘[...] What about his Ph.D. xperiments on you?’
‘Did it snow?’
R77 217 ‘Boom-Sook Kim cared not for
xperiments [...]’
‘Ah, yes, snow.’
Q78 217 ‘Then how was Boom-Sook
planning to obtain his Ph.D.?’
‘You speak like an aesthete sometimes, Sonmi.’
R78 217 ‘By paying an academic agent [...]’
‘Perhaps those deprived of beauty perceive it most instinctively.’
Q79 217 ‘Was Boom-Sook Kim’s mentor
aware of this plagiarism?’
‘So it must be around now that Dr. Mephi enters the story?’
R79 217 ‘Professors value tenure too much to muckrake the sons of future Boardmen.’
‘Yes, Sextet Eve. [...]’
Q80 217 ‘Did Boom-Sook never talk to you … […]?’
‘Fang seems to have been the ringleader.’
R80 217-218 ‘He addressed me like
purebloods speak to a cat. […]’
‘He was, yes. [...]’
Q81 218 ‘So for nine months nobody
observed your rocketing sentience?’
‘Boardman Mephi?’
R81 218 ‘Boom-Sook Kim's only visitors [...]’
‘Yes, but let us be thoro [...]’
Q82 218 ‘What is “poker”?’ ‘Yes, I’m curious to hear that, too.’
R82 218 ‘A card game [...]’ ‘Boom-Sook tried everything
[...]’
Q83 218 ‘Why was it that you never met Wing~027 again?’
‘That must have been very welcome news.’
Q84 219 ‘Why is that unusual?’ ‘What reason did the Boardman give for your timely rescue?’
R84 219 ‘Purebloods always see us but rarely look at us. [...]’
‘None, as yet. [...]’
Q85 219 ‘Did you feel... well, what did you feel? [...]’
‘A bewildering evening— crossbolts one moment, art history the next ...’
R85 219 ‘Fury. [...]’ ‘Certainly. [...]’
Q86 219 ‘What happened to you over
summer recess?’
‘Denial was plainly pointless.’
R86 219-220 ‘According to regulations, Boom-Sook should have deposited me [...]’
‘Indeed: [...]’
Q87 220 ‘So you never set foot outside Boom-Sook’s lab in five weeks? [...]’
‘Obviously, none of them got their way.’
R87 220 ‘Not once: [...]’ ‘No. [...]’
Q88 220 ‘But that’s fifty days of unbroken solitude.’
‘And what did Boardman Mephi intend to do with you now?’
R88 220 ‘My mind traveled […]’ ‘Frame a new compromise [...]’
Q89 220 ‘Were still Boom-Sook’s thesis specimen […]?’
‘Did Sonmi~451’s interests enter this simultaneous equation?’
R89 220-221 ‘I was. [...]’ ‘To a degree, yes [...]’
Q90 221 ‘What was your reaction to
snow?’
‘[...] If Boom-Sook Kim was such a buffoon, how had he attained this holy grail of psychogenomics—stable ascension?’
Q91 221 ‘And it must have been around then that Dr Mephi enters the story?’
‘And all the while Boom-Sook Kim was blissfully unaware of the furor his plagiarized Ph.D. was causing?’
R91 221-222 ‘Yes, on Sextet Eve. [...]’ ‘Only an obdurate fool […]’
Q92 222 ‘Fang seems to be the
ringleader.’
‘How did you find your new regime in the Unanimity Faculty […]?’
R92 222-224 ‘He was: [...]’ ‘As I was moved on Sextet Eve
[...]’
Q93 224 ‘Boardman Mephi?’ ‘What was your first lecture?’
R93 224-225 ‘Unamity Professor [...]’ ‘Swanti’s Biomathematics […]’
Q94 225 ‘I’m curious to hear that, too.’ ‘Did Professor Mephi know about the students’
unfriendliness?’
R94 225 ‘Boom-Sook tried everything
[...]’
‘I think so. [...]’
Q95 225 ‘That must have come as very good news.’
‘It must have taken courage to return.’
R95 225 ‘Yes, xcept for my sony [...]’ ‘Not really: an enforcer escorted me [...]’
Q96 225 ‘What reason did the Boardman
give for your timely rescue?’
‘Did you brave any more lectures?’
R96 225-227 ‘I didn't ask [...]’ ‘One, on Lööw’s Fundaments [...]’
Q97 227 ‘A bewildering evening—
crossbolts one moment, art history the next ...’
‘Media? On a corpocratic campus?’
R97 227-228 ‘Certainly [...]’ ‘No [...]’
R98 228 ‘Indeed [...]’ ‘Ah, yes, a daily reminder of my true status. [...]’
Q99 228 ‘Obviously none of them got
their way.’
‘Out where? [...]’
R99 228 ‘No. [...]’ ‘Next ninthnite [...]’
Q100 228 ‘So... what did Boardman Mephi intend to do with you now?’
‘Didn’t he irritate you a little?’
R100 228-229 ‘Frame a new compromise [...]’ ‘Initially, he irritated me a lot [...]’
Q101 229 ‘Did Sonmi~451’s interests enter this simultaneous equation?’
‘Were you nervous about leaving Taemosan?’
R101 229 ‘The University would enrol me [...]’
‘Slitely yes. [...]’
Q102 229 ‘[...] If Boom-Sook Kim was such an idle buffoon, how had he attained this holy grail of psychogenomics—stable ascension?’
‘No, not even by day. [...]’
R102 229-230 ‘Hae-Joo Im’s xplanation was [...]’
‘You should go. [...]’
Q103 230 ‘And Boom-Sook Kim stayed
unaware of the furore his Ph.D. had triggered?’
‘Which galleria did you go to?’
R103 230 ‘Only a fool [...]’ ‘Wangshimni Orchard [...]’
Q104 230 ‘How did you find your new
regime in the Unanimity Faculty […]?’
‘Did you xperience any negative reactions from consumers in the galleria? [...]’
R104 230 ‘You will recall I was moved [...]’
‘No. Many other fabricants were there [...]’
Q105 230 ‘What was your first lecture?’ ‘So she couldn’t believe you weren’t a pureblood?’
R105 230-231 ‘Swanti’s “Biomathematics” [...]’
Q106 231 ‘Did Professor Mephi know about the students’
unfriendliness?’
‘So the xcursion helped dislodge your ... sense of ennui?’
R106 231 ‘Yes. [...]’ ‘In a way, yes. [...]’
Q107 231 ‘It must have taken courage to return.’
‘It could hardly be wise for an ascended server to visit a dinery?’
R107 231-232 ‘An enforcer escorted me [...]’ ‘I do not claim it was wise [...]’
Q108 232 ‘Did you brave any more
lectures?’
‘In case you got separated?’
R108 232 ‘One, on Lööw’s Fundaments [...]’
‘For good luck, I thought [...]’
Q109 232 ‘Media had been allowed into a state-funded university?’
‘In what ways?’
R109 232 ‘No [...]’ ‘That spacious dome was so
poky [...]’
Q110 233 ‘How were the morning
xperiments you underwent?’
‘I suppose the key was, there was no key [...]’
R110 233 ‘A daily reminder [...]’ ‘How many of these xcursions took place?’
Q111 233 ‘Back to lectures? [...]’ ‘How many of these xcursions took place?’
R111 233-234 ‘Ninth Nite [...]’ ‘Every ninthnite until Corpocracy Day [...]’
Q112 235 ‘Didn’t he irritate you a little?’ ‘Please do.’
R112 235 ‘At first, he irritated me a lot [...]’
‘A keen passion of Hae-Joo’s was disneys [...]’
Q113 235 ‘Were you nervous about
leaving Taemosan?’
‘You mean Union samizdat from the Production Zones?’
Q114 236 ‘No, nor even by day. Us citizens leave the Tower for the tourists, mostly.’
‘Namely?’
R114 236 ‘Go. [...]’ ‘A picaresque entitled The
Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish [...]’
Q115 236 ‘Which galleria did you go to?’ ‘Sweet Corpocracy, no! ‘
R115 236-237 ‘Wangshimni Orchard [...]’ ‘Is that so? Well, the Juche’s stance on historical discourse is riddled with inconsistencies. On the one hand, if historical discourse were permitted, the downstrata could access a bank of human xperience that would rival, and sometimes contradict, that taught by Media. On the other hand, corpocracy funds your Ministry of Archivism, dedicated to preserving a
historical record for future ages.’
Q116 237 ‘Did you xperience any negative reactions from consumers in the galleria? [...]’
‘Yes, but our xistence is kept from the downstrata.’
R116 237-238 ‘Many fabricants could be seen there [...]’
‘Xcept from those condemned to the Litehouse.’
Q117 238 ‘[...] she couldn’t believe you weren’t a pureblood?’
‘Why had Hae-Joo Im chosen to show you this Ghastly Ordeal?’
R117 238 ‘She gave me her card [...]’ ‘Perhaps Professor Mephi had instructed him [...]’
Q118 238 ‘So the xcursion helped dislodge your ... sense of ennui?’
R118 238-239 ‘I understood [...]’ ‘Certainly: the vacant disneyarium was a haunting frame for those lost, rainy landscapes. Giants strode the screen, lit by sunlite captured thru a lens when your
grandfather’s grandfather, Archivist, was kicking in his natural womb. Time is the speed at which the past decays, but disneys enable a brief resurrection. [...]’
Q119 239 ‘... It could hardly be wise [...]’ ‘Only fifty minutes?’
R119 239 ‘I am not saying it was wise [...]’ ‘Hae-Joo’s handsony purred at a key scene [...]’
Q120 239 ‘Why?’ ‘Do you remember your
thoughts on hearing that?’
R120 239 ‘For good luck [...]’ ‘No [...]’
E edition breaks here
Q121 239 ‘In what ways?’ ‘Then who was Hae-Joo Im, if
he was not xactly who he said he was?’
R121 239-241 ‘That spacious dome: so poky [...]’
‘I surprised myself by answering that question: Union. [...]’
Q122 241 ‘Did you find the “key” to your ascended self?’
‘[...] How did you know for sure he wasn’t abducting you?’
R122 241-242 ‘I suppose the key was, there was no key [...]’
‘I did not know: I was not sure. [...]’
Q123 242 ‘How many of these xcursions took place?’
‘Unionmen really cut out their own eternal Souls? I always thought it was an urban myth ...’
R123 242-243 ‘Every Ninth Nite until Corpocracy Day [...]’
Q124 243 ‘As you wish.’ ‘What? His own man? Why?’
R124 243 ‘A keen passion of Hae-Joo's was disneys [...]’
‘Unanimity dumdums combine kalodoxalyn and stimulin. [...]’
Q125 243 ‘You mean Union samizdat from the Production Zones?’
‘[...] But please describe it for my orison.’
R125 243 ‘No. I mean that zone even more forbidden: the past. [...]’
‘Huamdonggil is a noxious maze of low, crooked ramshacks [...]’
Q126 243 ‘Namely?’ ‘Which was where xactly?’
R126 243 ‘A picaresque entitled The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish [...]’
‘Xactly I cannot say: Huamdonggil is not gridnumbered or charted.’
Q127 243 ‘An eightstratum archivist can't dream of getting such security clearance! [...]’
‘The parlor?’
R127 243 ‘Why our corpocratic state outlaws any historical discourse is a perplexing question. Is it that history provides a bank of human xperience that rivals Media’s? If so, why preserve archives like ministry’s, whose very xistence is a state secret?’
‘A gaproom behind a roaring kitchen and a false wall [...]’
Q128 243 What was your own opinion of this Ghastly Ordeal?’
‘A carp?’
R128 244 ‘Its world intrigued me [...]’ ‘A carp, as in the fish. [...]’
Q129 244 ‘It all sounds grimly dystopian.’ ‘How was Hae-Joo planning to pass thru a city xit without Souls?’
R129 244 ‘[...] Time is what stops history happening at once [...]’
‘The Soul implanter was ushered in just minutes later. […]’
Q130 244 ‘Only fifty minutes?’ ‘So I suppose your next
destination was the facescaper?’
R130 244 ‘Hae-Joo’s handsony purred at a key scene [...]’
Q131 244 ‘What did you think on hearing that?’
‘So what happened to Madam Ovid’s artistry? [...]’
R131 244-245 ‘I couldn't think [...]’ ‘Unanimity refaced me for my peaktime courtroom
appearances. [...]’
P edition breaks here ‘East Gate One? [...]’
Q132 329 ‘Then who was Hae-Joo Im […]?’
‘Yes [...]’
R132 329 ‘I surprised myself by answering that question: Union. [...]’
Q133 329 ‘[...] How did you know for sure he wasn’t abducting you?’
‘That’s a dangerously simple crypto, it seems to me.’
R133 329 ‘I didn't know for sure. [...]’ ‘Meticulous brains will overlook the simple.’
Q134 330 ‘Unionmen really cut out their own Juche-given eternal Souls?’
‘Where did you really curfew that nite? Not a seedy motel?’
R134 330 ‘How else can a resistance movement elude Unanimity? [...]’
‘No [...]’
Q135 330 What? Why?’ ‘Wombtanks?’
R135 330-331 ‘Unanimity dumdums combine kalodoxalyn and giga-stimulin. [...]’
‘Yes. [...]’
Q136 331 ‘[...] What did you find there?’ ‘A penthouse? In a fabricant nursery?’
R136 331-332 ‘Huamdonggil is a noxious maze of crookeds, ramshacks [...]’
‘The Unionman was fond of irony. [...]’
Q137 332 ‘Which was what, xactly?’ ‘You didn’t feel vulnerable […]?’
R137 332-333 ‘[...] Huamdonggil is not gridnumbered or charted [...]’
‘I was too toxed. [...]’
R138 333 ‘A gaproom behind a roaring kitchen and a false wall [...]’
‘No. [...]’
Q139 333 ‘A carp? As in the fish?’ ‘[...] What could replace their labor?’
R139 333-334 ‘A numinous [...]’ ‘Us. Fabricants. […]’
Q140 334 ‘How was Hae-Joo planning to pass thru a conurb exit without Souls in your indexes?’
‘And how did Union aim to xtract these ... alleged “ills” of our state?’
R140 334-336 ‘The Soul implanter was ushered in just minutes later. […]’
‘Revolution.’
Q141 336 ‘So I guess your next destination was the facescaper?’
‘[...] How can any rational organization embrace a creed that opposes corpocracy? [...]’
R141 336-337 ‘Yes. [...]’ ‘All rising suns set, Archivist. [...]’
Q142 337 ‘So what happened to Madam
Ovid’s artistry? [...]’
‘Well, you seem to have embraced Union propaganda wholeheartedly, Sonmi~451.’
R142 337-338 ‘Unanimity refaced me for my peaktime courtroom
appearances. [...]’
‘And I might observe that you have embraced corpocracy propaganda wholeheartedly Archivist.’
Q143 338 ‘East Gate One? [...]’ ‘Did your new friends mention xactly how Union plans to overthrow a state with a standing pureblood army of 2 million backed by a further 2 million fabricant troops?’
R143 338 ‘The leader suffixed [...]’ ‘Yes. [...]’
Q144 338 ‘That’s a dangerously simple crypto.’
Fantasy. Lunacy.
R144 338-339 ‘Meticulous brains often overlook the simple.’
‘All revolutions are, until they happen, then they are historical inevitabilities.’
Q145 339 ‘Where did you curfew that nite? The outer motel?’
R145 339 ‘No [...]’ ‘The battlefield, you see, is neuromolecular. [...]’
Q146 339 ‘Wombtanks?’ ‘What damage could even 10
million […]?’
R146 339-340 ‘We had entered a genomics unit [...]’
‘Who would work factory lines? [...]’
Q147 340 ‘A penthouse? In a fabricant nursery?’
‘Unanimity would maintain order. [...]’
R147 340 ‘The Unionman was fond of
irony. [...]’
‘Even Yoona~939 chose death over slavery.’
Q148 340 ‘You didn’t feel vulnerable […]?’
‘And your role in this ... proposed rebellion?’
R148 340-341 ‘No. [...]’ ‘My first role was [...]’
Q149 341 ‘More evasion?’ How did you feel about being a
figurehead for terrorists?
R149 341 ‘No. [...]’ ‘Trepidation: [...]’
Q150 341 ‘‘[...] What will replace their valuable labor?’
‘Weren’t you curious about Union's blueprint for the briter tomorrow? [...]’
R150 341-342 ‘Us. Fabricants […]’ ‘You show xtraordinary
erudition for an eighth-stratum, Archivist. [...]’
Q151 342 ‘And how did Union aim to
xpunged these ... alleged “ills” of our state?’
‘We’re circling a contentious core, Sonmi. Let’s return to your journey.’
R151 342 ‘Revolution.’ ‘We reached Suanbo Plain
around hour eleven [...]’
Q152 342 ‘[...] How can any organization embrace such... terrorism? [...]’
‘Hae-Joo Im wasn’t trying to get to Pusan in one day?’
R152 342 ‘[...] The sun sets.’ ‘No. [...]’
Q153 342 ‘You seem to have embraced
Union propaganda wholeheartedly, Sonmi.’
R153 342 ‘I might observe that you have embraced Nea So Copros propaganda wholeheartedly Archivist.’
‘Every nowhere is somewhere, Archivist. [...]’
Q154 342 ‘Did Hae-Joo mention xactly how Union plans to overthrow a state with a standing army of two million?’
‘So Union hid its interlocutor, its ... messiah, in a colony of
recidivists?’
R154 342 ‘He did [...]’ ‘Messiah: what a grandiose title
for a Papa Song server. [...]’
Q155 342 ‘I don’t understand how you didn’t recognize this as sheerest fantasy?’
‘Who were these “colonists” xactly? [...]’
R155 342 ‘All revolutions are sheerest fantasy, until they happen; then they become historical
inevitabilities.’
‘Each colonist had a different story. [...]’
Q156 342 ‘How could Union possibly
achieve this “simultaneous ascension”?’
‘But ... how could people there survive without franchises and gallerias? [...]’
R156 342 ‘The battlefield was at the molecular level [...]’
‘Go visit them, Archivist. [...]’
Q157 342 ‘What damage could even six million […]?’
‘What about the mountain winters?’
R157 342-343 ‘Who would work the factory lines? [...]’
‘They survived as fifteen centuries of nuns had before them [...]’
Q158 343 ‘Unanimity would maintain
order. [...]’
‘So what was Union’s interest in the colony?’
R158 343 ‘ […] Even Yoona~939, a
fabricant server, chose death over slavery.’
‘Simple: [...]’
Q159 343 ‘Wait, wait, wait [….]’ ‘She knew you weren’t pureblood all along? How?’
R159 343 ‘Unanimity were alerted […]’ ‘It seemed tactless to ask. [...]’
Q160 343 ‘And your role in this … überplan?’
R160 343 ‘My first role [...]’ ‘I did not know [...]’
Q161 343 ‘How did you feel about such a role in a terrorist organization?’
‘So day two as a fugitive got under way.’
R161 343 ‘The greatest trepidation: [...]’ ‘Yes. [...]’
Q162 343-344 ‘Weren’t you curious about Union’s blueprint for the briter tomorrow? [...]’
‘I presume he had discarded a fabricant living doll.’
R162 344 ‘Your study is curiously broad [...]’
‘Yes. [...]’
Q163 344 ‘We’re circling a contentious core, Sonmi. Let’s return to your journey.’
‘You considered him a murderer?’
R163 344 ‘We reached Suanbo Plain
around hour eleven [...]’
‘Of course. [...]’
Q164 344 ‘Hae-Joo Im wasn’t trying to get to Pusan in one day?’
‘But hate men like Seer Kwon, and you hate the whole world.’
R164 344-345 ‘No. [...]’ ‘Not the whole world, Archivist
[...]’
Q165 345 ‘What was the purpose of this xpedition into the middle of nowhere?’
‘When did you finally reach Pusan?’
R165 345-346 ‘Every nowhere is somewhere. [...]’
‘Nitefall. [...]’
Q166 346 ‘So Union hid its interlocutor, its ... “messiah”, in a colony of recidivists?’
‘Was she Union?’
R166 346 ‘Messiah: what a grand title for a Papa Song server. [...]’
‘No. [...]’
Q167 346 ‘So who were these squatters xactly? […]’
‘Surely, such a distinguished defector as yourself deserved a rather grander reception?’
R167 346 ‘Each colonist had a different story [...]’
Q168 347 ‘But ... how could they survive without franchises and gallerias? [...]’
‘You’d never seen it before?’
R168 347 ‘Their food came from forest and garden [...]’
‘Only on Papa Song’s 3-Ds of life in Xultation. [...]’
Q169 347 ‘What about the mountain
winters?’
‘An illegal transceiver? [...]’
R169 347 ‘They survived as fifteen centuries of nuns had before them [...]’
‘The sacred is a fine hiding place for the profane. [...]’
Q170 347 ‘So what was Union’s interest in the monastery?’
‘Gaining access to a corp ship was so simple?’
R170 347-349 ‘Union provides hardware [...]’ ‘Papa Song’s Golden Ark is not xactly a magnet for illegal boarders [...]’
Q171 349 ‘How did she know?’ ‘You sound as if you still envy them.’
R171 349 ‘I didn’t ask [...]’ ‘Watching them from the
hangway, I envied their certainty about the future.’
Q172 349 ‘Why did she show her hand?’ ‘Weren’t you in danger of being seen?’
R172 349 ‘To xpress solidarity [...]’ ‘No [...]’
Q173 349 ‘Was she speaking in general terms or specific?’
‘ “Odd” in what way?’
R173 349 ‘I didn’t learn until the following nite [...]’
‘There was only one door [...]’
Q174 350 ‘So Day Two as a fugitive got under way.’
‘But ... why would— What would the purpose be of such ... carnage?’
R174 350-351 ‘Hae-Joo breakfasted [...]’ ‘The economics of corpocracy [...]’
Q175 351 ‘I presume he had discarded a fabricant living doll.’
R175 351-352 ‘The xec was keen [...]’ ‘Business is business.’
Q176 352 ‘You considered him a
murderer?’
‘You’ve described not
“business” but ... industrialized evil!’
R176 352 ‘One so shallow he didn't even know it.’
‘You underestimate humanity’s ability to bring such evil into being. [...]’
Q177 353 ‘But hate men like Seer Kwon, and you hate the whole world.’
‘No crime of such magnitude could take root in Nea So Copros.’
R177 353 ‘Not the whole world, Archivist [...]’
‘Rights are susceptible to subversion, as even granite is susceptible to erosion. [...]’
Q178 353 ‘When did you finally reach Pusan?’
‘But what about the 3-Ds of Xultation and such?’
R178 353-354 ‘Nitefall. [...]’ ‘Xultation is a sony-generated simulacrum dijied in Neo Edo. [...]’
Q179 354 ‘Was she Union?’ ‘[...] How long did you watch
this slaughter’
R179 354-355 ‘No. [...]’ ‘I cannot recall, accurately. [...]’
Q180 355 ‘Surely, such a distinguished defector deserved a grander reception?’
‘Weren’t you angry with Union for xposing you to the Golden Ark without adequately preparing you?’
R180 355 ‘Grand receptions draw
attention’
‘What words could Apis or Hae-Joo have used?’
Q181 355 ‘You’d never seen it before?’ ‘Many xpert witnesses at your trial denied Declarations could be the work of a fabricant [...]’
R181 355-356 ‘Only on sony, Papa Song’s 3Ds of life in Xultation. [...]’
‘How lazily “xperts” dismiss what they fail to understand!’
Q182 356 ‘An illegal transceiver? [...]’ ‘And your capture came shortly after completing your text?’
R182 356-357 ‘The sacred is a fine hiding place for the profane. [...]’
Q183 357 ‘Gaining access to a corp ship was so straitforward?’
‘You are implying that you xpected the raid, Sonmi?’
R183 357-358 ‘Papa Song’s Golden Ark is not xactly a magnet for illegal boarders [...]’
‘Once I had finished my manifesto, the next stage could only be my arrest.’
Q184 358 ‘Did you envy them.’ ‘What do you mean? [...]’
R184 358 ‘I envied their certainty about the future.’
‘Of the theatrical production, set up while I was still a server in Papa Song’s.’
Q185 358 ‘Weren’t you in danger of being seen?’
‘Wait, wait, wait. What about ... everything? [...]’
R185 358 ‘Brite droplights [...]’ ‘Its key events, yes [...]’
Q186 358 ‘What was so odd about that?’ ‘Such as? [...]’
R186 358-359 ‘There was one door [...]’ ‘Wing~027 was as stable an ascendant as I [...]’
Q187 359 ‘But ... why would— What
would the purpose be of such ... carnage?’
‘But what about Xi-Li […]?’
R187 359-360 ‘The genomics industry [...]’ ‘Indeed not. [...]’
Q188 360 ‘No. [...]’ ‘But ... Union? [...]’
R188 360 ‘Business is business.’ ‘No. [...]’
Q189 360 ‘But why didn’t this emerge during your trial?’
‘I still can’t understand why Unanimity would go to the xpense and trouble of staging this fake [...]’
R189 360 ‘I must reiterate [...]’ ‘To generate the show trial of the decade. [...]’
R190 360 ‘It is [...]’ ‘Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases?’
Q191 360 ‘What about the 2Ds of Hawaii? [...]’
‘Tell me.’
R191 360 ‘Xultation is a sony generated [...]’
‘We see a game beyond the endgame. [...]’
Q192 360 ‘No I cannot accept [...]’ ‘But to what end? [...]’
R192 360-361 ‘My fifth Declaration proposes [...]’
‘As Seneca warned Nero [...]’
Q193 361 ‘[...] How long did you watch the slaughter you describe?’
‘... name it.’
R193 351-362 ‘I don't recall [...]’ ‘Your sony and access codes.’
‘What do you wish to download?’
Q194 362 ‘But weren’t you angry[...]?’ ‘A certain disney I once began, one nite long ago in another age.’
R194 362 ‘No [...]’ E edition ends here
Q195 362 ‘Many xpert witnesses at your trial denied Declarations was the work of a fabricant [...]’
R195 362-363 ‘How lazily “xperts” dismiss what they fail to understand! [...]’
Q196 363 ‘And your capture came shortly after completing your text?’
R196 363 ‘The same afternoon. [...]’
Q197 363 ‘You are implying that you xpected the raid, Sonmi?’
R197 363 ‘Once I had finished my
Q198 363 ‘What do you mean? [...]’
R198 363 ‘Of the theatrical production [...]’
Q199 363 ‘Wait, wait, wait. What about ... well, everything? [...]’
R199 364 ‘Its key events, yes [...]’
Q200 364 ‘Such as?’
R200 264 ‘Wing ~027 [...]’
Q201 264 ‘But what about Xi-Li […]?’
R201 264 ‘That poor idealist [...]’
Q202 264 ‘But... Union […]?’
R202 264 ‘No: [...]’
Q203 264 ‘I still can’t understand why Unanimity would go to the xpense and trouble of staging this fake [...]’
R203 264 ‘To generate a show trial [...]’
Q204 264 ‘But if you knew about this […]?’
R204 264 ‘Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases? [...]’
Q205 264 ‘What is yours?’
Q206 365 ‘But to what end? [...]’
R206 365 ‘To Corpocracy [...]’
Q207 365 ‘Two brief last questions. […]’
R207 365 ‘How can I? [...]’
Q208 365 ‘Did you love Hae-Joo Im?’
R208 365 ‘Tell the Chairman of
Narcissism he'll have to consult with future historians on that. […]’
Q209 365 ‘Very well ... name it.’
R209 365 ‘The use of your sony and access codes.’
Q210 365 ‘What do you wish to
download?’
R210 365 ‘I wish to finish viewing a film [...]’
